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The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2022 [1]

['Amy Burke', 'Nbsp', 'Abigail Okrent', 'Katherine Hale', 'Author Contact Information']

Date: 2024-01

Based on R&D expenditures, a few countries perform most of the global R&D. In 2019, the United States (27% or $656 billion) and China (22% or $526 billion) performed about half of the global R&D ( Figure 12 ). Data for the United States in Figures 12 – Figures 15 reflect international standards for calculating gross expenditures on R&D, which vary slightly from the NCSES’s protocol for tallying U.S. total R&D. , The section “ Global R&D ” draw on data and sources in the forthcoming Indicators 2022 report, “ Research and Development: U.S. Trends and International Comparisons ,”—refer to this report and the section on Research and Development at the NCSES website for the latest data as estimates in this section may be subject to revision. These shares are markedly different from those reported in Indicators 2020 because of revisions to the estimates of purchasing power parities (PPP), a measure which enables direct comparisons of R&D expenditures across countries (see sidebar Revisions to Global Research and Development for more details). Japan (7%), Germany (6%), and South Korea (4%) were also substantial performers. Other top-performing countries—for example, France, India, and the United Kingdom—account for about 2% to 3% each of the global total. Many other countries also conduct R&D, with annual expenditures well below these top countries.

PPP is purchasing power parity. Data are for the top eight R&D-performing countries. Data are not available for all countries for all years. Gross domestic expenditures on R&D were revised from those reported in previous years of Science and Engineering Indicators . These data revisions were mostly due to 2020 revisions of the PPP estimates. See sidebar Revisions to Global Research and Development for more details.

A notable trend over the past decade has been the growth in R&D spending in the regions of East-Southeast Asia and South Asia, compared with the other major R&D-performing areas. The United States contributed 23% to growth in global R&D performance from 2000 to 2019, whereas countries in the regions of East-Southeast Asia and South Asia, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and India contributed 46% to the growth in global R&D during this period. China alone contributed 29% to growth in global R&D, buoyed by its high annual R&D growth ( Figure 13 ). The annual increase of China’s R&D, averaging 10.6% annually from 2010 to 2019, continues to greatly exceed that of the United States, with an annual average of 5.4% from 2010 to 2019. Consequently, the share of global R&D performed by the United States declined from 29% in 2010 to 27% in 2019, whereas the share by China increased from 15% to 22% ( Figure 14 ). More recently, R&D growth in China has slowed to a rate that is similar to the United States.

Several countries with smaller economies, including Israel, South Korea, and Taiwan, have greater R&D intensities than the United States (see Glossary section for definition of R&D intensity). However, R&D intensity increased across several of the top R&D-performing countries from 2000 to 2019 (Figure 15). U.S. R&D intensity ranged from 2.5% to just under 3.0% for nearly 2 decades, with the most recent 2019 estimate exceeding 3.0% for the first time, based on a preliminary estimate of U.S. total R&D expenditures (Figure 15). From 2000 to 2019, South Korea and China had the most growth in R&D intensity, growing from 2.1% to 4.6% and from 0.9% to 2.2%, respectively. R&D intensity in Germany also grew from 2.4% to 3.2%.

Countries vary in the amount of R&D expenditures on basic research, applied research, and experimental development (see Glossary section for definitions of basic research, applied research, and experimental development). For example, the United States spends a higher share of R&D funding on basic research than does China, and China spends a higher share of R&D funding on experimental development than does the United States. In 2018, China spent 83% of its R&D expenditures on experimental development, compared with 64% in the United States. Although the shares spent on experimental development differed, the United States ($388.6 billion) and China ($387.9 billion) spent similar amounts. Overall, the United States spent $607.5 billion in R&D activity, with $101.1 billion (17%) of annual R&D spending classified as basic research, and China spent $26 billion (6%) of annual R&D spending on basic research. Other countries, such as France, spent a higher proportion of R&D funds on basic research, but none spend more than China or the United States in absolute amounts.

Within most of the top R&D-performing countries, the business sector funds the most R&D—60% or more in 2018. In each of the leading Asian countries—Japan, China, and South Korea—the business sector accounted for more than 75% of R&D funding. The business share of total R&D funding was lower but still more than 60% in the United States and Germany.

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[1] Url: https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20221/u-s-and-global-research-and-development

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